music

"SEA SEW," Lisa Hannigan (ATO Records)

Lisa Hannigan spent seven years as a backing singer for Damien Rice, so it's no wonder she's a bit halting as lead vocalist on her solo debut, "Sea Sew."

"THE BLACK GHOSTS," The Black Ghosts (Universal Republic)

The Blacks Ghosts caught a break when they landed their song "Full Moon" on the soundtrack for November's blockbuster "Twilight," which has prompted Universal Republic to re-release the U.K. act's self-titled debut that initially came out in July.

"WHISPER HOUSE," Duncan Sheik (Victor/Sony)
The foundation of Duncan Sheik's "Whisper House" may be built on theater, but it sounds decidedly untheatrical.

"MARIAH CAREY: THE BALLADS," Mariah Carey (Sony)

In 2008, Mariah Carey passed Elvis Presley and threatened the Beatles for the most No. 1 hits in pop history, and nervous folks (especially those fond of the Beatles) assailed the singer as a nonentity whose songs are thoroughly disposable.

"COMPASS," Joshua Redman (Nonesuch)

For most of us, jazz is someone else's music. It exists as an occasional, incidental (usually accidental) bit of background noise in the soundtrack of our lives, like when the Weather Channel is showing "Local on the 8s."

A glance at some of the big releases and appearances -- from the inauguration to the Super Bowl -- coming from our pop icons in 2009.

Glasvegas

"SAVAGE ISLAND," Savage (Universal Republic)

Apart from the tiki torches on the cover and the charming late-album track "I Love the Islands," there isn't much on "Savage Island" to identify rapper Savage as a Samoan from New Zealand.

The inductees for the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be announced next month, some four months after the release of the nominations, but Little Anthony isn't among those sitting around fretting over his chances.
In fact, in a recent interview, the singer couldn't even say who was nominated or how many would get in.

The inductees for the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be announced next month, some four months after the release of the nominations, but Little Anthony isn't among those sitting around fretting over his chances.
In fact, in a recent interview, the singer couldn't even say who was nominated or how many would get in.

"WE ARE BEAUTIFUL, WE ARE DOOMED," Los Campesinos! (Arts & Crafts)

The fatalistic nature of the titles and lyrics on "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" is such a stark contrast to the buoyant sound of Los Campesinos! that listeners might wonder what's going on in the heads of the members of the seven-person Welsh band.